2020 NFL Draft: 5 linebackers who will be instant impact players

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NORMAN, OK – NOVEMBER 23: Oklahoma Sooners linebacker Kenneth Murray (#9) celebrates a defensive stop during the Big 12 college football game between the Oklahoma Sooners and the TCU Horned Frogs on November 23, 2019, at Gaylord Family Oklahoma Memorial Stadium in Norman, OK. (Photo by Matthew Visinsky/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images). /

Kenneth Murray, Oklahoma

One of the best defensive players in the country over the past three years, Kenneth Murray has filled up the stat sheet and put together a first-round resume.

325 career tackles
36.5 tackles for loss
9.5 sacks

At 6-foot-2 and 234 pounds, Murray is closer to the ideal size many teams are looking for at the linebacker position nowadays, and he certainly has the ability to play around the line of scrimmage and disrupt plays behind it. It’s his specialty.

Murray knifes through the line of scrimmage with ease and his 36.5 career tackles for loss are evidence that a lot of times, there’s really nothing opposing offensive linemen can do about it.

Playing somewhat out of position at Oklahoma based on his strengths, we’ll see Murray continue to ascend as potentially a better all-around player in the NFL than he was in college when he’s not forced to be the middle linebacker.

He struggles a bit with decision-making but has obviously masked a lot of that with athleticism, superior physical skills, and overall range.

As Murray becomes even more of a film junky at the next level and gets into a 3-4 defense where he’s not on an island on the second level, he’s going to be an absolute stud.

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